Big ears

Some people are just not blessed with normal sized ears. Usually it becomes a problem about age 5 when thoughtless kids are merciless in teasing about anything not perfectly normal. These slights can and do leave lasting emotional scars

The big ears are normal but just sticking out too much. If this is recognized within the first two weeks after birth, taping them back before the collagen hardens can help. Talk with your pediatrician about taping them. Although it is really unlikely; you could tape them so tightly that the skin is damaged. It is not “rocket science” you can do it, but the window of opportunity is small.

Dr. Robinson has a soft spot in his heart for kids with “Dumbo ears”, he had them and took a lot of abuse as child. He knows how painful it can be.

When the child is about five, the ears have attained about 85% of adult growth and then they can be “pinned back”. This operation takes about 2 hours and depending upon the maturity and patience of the patient it can be done under local anesthesia or IV sedation plus local. Children have to wear a protective “turban” of gauze for about a week to keep the ears from being pulled forward, pulling the stitches. Adults normally only wear the turban for 2-3 days and then a protective band just at night for about two weeks..

If you want more information contact Dr. Robinson 8147 461 1693 or contact@chilirobinson.com. If you would like a link to the procedure, please visit plasticsurgery.org/patients_consumers/procedures/Otoplasty.cfm and then come back to see us about the specifics of your ear correction, called an otoplasty.

I hope this has been a relief to someone. DrChili

Botox Allergy?

One of my friends recently asked me about a reaction she had with Botox from another doctor years ago. Her eyes swelled about 3 days after the injections.

Allergic reactions to Botox(r) are exceedingly rare, and could be due to the serum that the material is injected with. While allergies are rare, one has to be careful about the amount and location of the injections. Typically cosmetic injections for the frown, crow's feet, or forehead use about 30 to 50 units with 100 being the manufacture's maximum dose.

Reports of difficultly with heart rate, swallowing, neck movements are all involved with injections into the neck for a "twisted neck" condition, torticolis and the average number of units used is 286. So this is not applicable to cosmetic facial wrinkles.

Botox should be used with caution in patients with neuromuscular diseases (such as myasthenia gravis), neuropathic disorders (such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), or patients taking aminoglycosides or other drugs that interfere with neuromuscular transmission.